Town to get ‘real boost’ from major planning reforms

Housebuilding next to train stations being given a default ‘yes’, will be a real boost for Castleton, says the town’s MP.

This area of Rochdale will be one of many towns with a transport hub set to benefit from new planning reforms essentially fast tracking housing developments. 

The default ‘yes’ for developments near train stations has been designed to ensure more high-quality, affordable homes are built in and around key towns and cities, saving commuters time and boosting access to housing.

In recent history, Castleton has seen lengthy processes in getting housing developments over the line. One example is the 445-home scheme approved earlier this year for Cowm Top Lane, which was first mooted in 2018.

The housing project, which would also bring a linear park, open green space and playgrounds to the land near the M62, took over five years from start to finish to get approval.

Cases like this are why Heywood and Middleton North MP, Elsie Blundell, is hailing government decisions like this one. She believes this will help inject investment into the area faster as well as the benefits that come with it. 

Castleton is one of five train stations in the Rochdale borough included in a 15-year regeneration vision for railway towns.

In 2021, a masterplan outlined the project to transform brownfield land around Castleton, Littleborough, Mills Hill, Rochdale and Smithy Bridge stations into 7,000 homes, commercial space and a ‘cycle corridor’.

Mrs Blundell said: “This is great news for Castleton. Building good quality homes with excellent connectivity to jobs in Manchester will provide a real boost for the town, and go a long way to tackling the demand for new housing we have here. 

“The council has been trying to make this development happen for a while, so this Labour government announcement also unblocks stalled projects which people want and need.”

Housebuilders will be encouraged to build more homes near these transport links, and councils in England will also now be required to tell the government when they intend to reject new housing developments over a certain size. The Housing Secretary will also be able to have the final say on whether developments should go ahead or not.

These changes will be introduced alongside proposals to streamline the statutory consultee process, further saving developers time and money, ensuring spades can get in the ground quicker to meet the government’s 1.5 million homes target. 

It also builds on work already underway following the launch of Platform4, a new property company set to unlock 40,000 homes on brownfield land near railway stations. Four sites already earmarked by Platform4, including Manchester Mayfield’s opportunity for 1,500 new homes, support the government’s wider plan for boosting productivity, growth and living standards across the north

Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, said: “I promised we’d get Britain building and that’s exactly what we are doing. But it has to be the right homes in the right places and nearby transport links are a vital part of that.

“We’re making it easier to build well-connected and high-quality homes, using stronger powers to speed things up if councils drag their feet, and proposing to streamline the consultation process to cut back delays.

“This is about action: spades in the ground, breathing new life into communities, and families finally getting the homes they need.”

The planning reforms are intended to give greater certainty and strength for development around well-connected rail stations, including trains and trams. They will be proposed through a new pro-growth and rules-based National Planning Policy Framework, which will be consulted on later this year.  

Unlocking land around stations will also extend to land within the Green Belt, according to the government.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “We’re ending years of dither and delay by green lighting affordable new homes for working people.

“This is another demonstration that our Plan for Change is getting spades in the ground faster, connecting people with jobs and opportunities closer to where they live, and boosting towns and cities across the country.”